Penney TL, et al. – An inspection was performed of the utility of various away–from–home food establishments, in accordance to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern and obesity status in the adults of the United Kingdom. Regardless of a greater reliance on eating away–from–home correlating with less–healthy diets and obesity, dietary public health interventions that target these food establishments could be most effective if they stressed on modifying the use of fast–food outlets.

Methods

• The design of this study was a cross-sectional analysis of data from a national survey (N=2,083 aged ≥19 years, from 2008 to 2012).
• The dietary intake was estimated using a 4-day food diary, and height and weight were measured objectively.
• Exposures comprsied of usage of (i.e., by proportion of energy) all away-from-home food establishments combined, and fast-food outlets, restaurants, and cafés separately.
• Outcomes included accordance with the DASH diet, and obesity status.
• Multivariable logistic regressions performed in 2016 determined the correlations between food establishments, diet quality, and obesity.

Results

• People consuming a higher proportion of energy from any away-from-home food establishment presented with lower odds of DASH accordance (OR=0.45, 95% CI=0.31, 0.67) and increased odds of obesity (OR=1.48, 95% CI=1.10, 1.99).
• Only the use of fast-food outlets correlated prominently with lower odds of DASH accordance (OR=0.48, 95%=0.33, 0.69) and higher odds of obesity (OR=1.30, 95% CI=1.01, 1.69), after adjustment.